Majority of growth comes from self-awareness. One of the major ways we grow is from feedback. Leaders check their ego at the door and remain open to the potential for growth. Like you said, all feedback isn’t necessarily good or useful; however remaining open to it is crucial.

Feedback is good as long as…..IT IS constructive, NOT destructive AND is two-way, aids development, building of teams, reaching of resolution to problems, job fulfillment, satisfaction. I have heard of people who can issue it, but cannot take it back the way.

Although your feedback post relates to verbal feedback, which is good, it mean’s people are talking, talking honestly. I am not a believer in another type of feedback, that being ‘feedback forms’, especially those with ‘checkbox answers’ only, you cannot be as ‘open’, fully explain with these. They then come across as a ‘paper exercise’, people trying to manipulate the results, any wonder people don’t like these.

Maybe your final question “What does it mean to receive feedback like a leader?” should contain the word “true” in front of “leader”.

I think a lot of what people think they believe about themselves is really more of what they don’t believe about others. In other words, “I may be wrong, but I’m certainly not as wrong as her.” Or, “He certainly can’t know more than I do.” They are judgments on individuals more than groups of people. You’ve written on this before. The person who is brave enough to speak truth to leadership early on is sometimes ostracized. That means multiple people have to say the same thing before the observation and intent is taken seriously. But if treatment of the initial messenger is obvious to others, the others therefore never step up and validate the message. They never take the risk. That is how the behavior perpetuates.